Chapter 17 I'm Your Sponsor

'Gwyneth? Could it be that all of my efforts were misguided?' Liam pondered with mixed emotions as he returned to the venue after hanging up the phone.

As the music ended, Gwyneth's fingertips slid off the piano keys. Though she had not wanted to take the stage, every moment spent immersed in the music had been a pleasure. As thunderous applause erupted from the audience, a smile graced the corner of her lips. She rose and bowed gracefully at a ninety-degree angle to the audience. As she straightened, her eyes met Liam's in the guest seats. Her smile shifted ever so slightly, and her brow raised with a hint of provocation.

"Now the stage can be returned to the contestants." Seeing the host nodding hastily, Gwyneth chuckled and stepped down, ignoring Judy entirely.

Two hours later, the competition results were announced, and Judy lost. The outcome was not too difficult to explain; it was merely a matter of skill. But what was more serious was Judy's behavior of publicly challenging a